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Layover guideAmsterdam · AMS

What to buy in Amsterdam

Crew allowances into the Netherlands are lower than a passenger's, and the VAT refund is now a digital process.

RizaCPH / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
All of Amsterdam

Dutch Customs sets a separate, smaller allowance for crew working international traffic including non-EU countries: 40 cigarettes, or 50 grams of smoking tobacco, or 20 cigarillos, or 10 cigars, or a proportional assortment, for your own use, from age 17. Walk off with a passenger-sized carton and you are over it.

The crew alcohol allowance is 1 litre of spirits, or 1 litre of sparkling wine, or 1 litre of fortified wine, or a proportional assortment, plus 2 litres of still wine and 8 litres of beer, from age 17.

For other goods the crew exemption is the same as any traveller's: duty free up to a total value of 430 euros, gifts included. The value of one article cannot be split across several people.

Residents outside the EU can reclaim Dutch VAT where the goods total at least 50 euros including VAT, and the goods leave the EU within three months after the month of purchase. Tell the retailer at the till: from 1 January 2026 a Dutch retailer has to register the invoice digitally, immediately at purchase, against your name and passport number, and Customs cannot validate a refund that is not in the system.

Validation is digital from 1 January 2026 and you no longer get a stamp on the invoice. The NL Customs VAT app is the quickest route, done near the Customs desk at the Dutch airport or port with Bluetooth and location services on, but it is not mandatory; if the shop registered the invoice you can go to the Customs desk with passport, travel documents and the goods instead. Separately, cash or gold of 10,000 euros or more must be declared at the point you enter or leave the EU.

Download the app before you reach the airport if you intend to use it, and expect to create an account with your passport.

  1. Dutch Customs: Crew members · checked 2026-09-03
  2. Dutch Customs: How do I reclaim VAT on my purchases? · checked 2026-09-03
  3. Dutch Customs: Entering or leaving the EU with 10,000 euro or more · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Amsterdam

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportStation directly beneath the terminal, seventeen minutes to Centraal, eight trains an hour.Ride-hailingLicensed taxis carry blue number plates; the apps use a separate marked pick-up point at Schiphol.Local laws that catch crew outCannabis is not legal, it is tolerated under conditions, and central Amsterdam's street rules are a separate layer again.Staying connectedAn EU or EEA SIM works at home rates; a Gulf, UK or US SIM does not.WeatherMild, grey and wet in small doses rather than downpours. Take a jacket in every month.Eating near the crew hotelsDinner is early, kitchens shut around ten, and the card comes out rather than cash.TippingNot mandatory, 10% for good service, and nothing is added for you.